EU States Agree Position on New Illegal Immigration Rules

Last year, more than 918,000 people without residency rights were found to be illegally present in the EU.

An Italian police officer stands in a recently built Italian-run migrant center at the port of Shengjin, some 60 kms northwest of Tirana, on Oct. 11, 2024. Adnan Beci/AFP via Getty Images

On Dec. 8, European Union countries agreed on their positions on an EU law designed to simplify and accelerate the return of third-country nationals who have no legal right to remain in the bloc, the Council of the European Union announced.

The Council said that EU governments had reached a political agreement that allows it to begin negotiations with the European Parliament to finalize the law.

The proposal complements the EU’s Pact on Migration and Asylum, adopted in June 2024, which sets rules on border screening, asylum procedures, and crisis measures and takes effect in June 2026.

The regulation would allow EU member states to establish “return hubs” in third countries, where migrants could be sent while awaiting repatriation.

Denmark’s Immigration Minister Rasmus Stoklund welcomed the decision on Dec. 8, noting that 3 in 4 migrants ordered to return still remain in the EU.

The council said a country of return may be any non-EU state that agrees to accept migrants under conditions that meet international human rights and non-refoulement standards.

Such agreements would outline return procedures, rules for a migrant’s stay in the partner country, and consequences if obligations are not met. These return hubs could operate either as transit centers or as final destinations.

Stoklund said that the rules could “significantly” help improve return rates.

He added that, “for the first time, illegally staying third country nationals will have obligations,” and that member states would gain “a much better toolbox—for instance, it will be possible to detain for a longer period and entry bans will be longer.”

Stricter Obligations

Last year, more than 918,000 people without residency rights were found to be illegally present in the EU, according to Eurostat figures released on May 5. During that period, 453,380 people were ordered to leave.

Under the agreed draft regulation, migrants who receive a return order will be required to cooperate with authorities, including by providing biometric data and identity documents. If they refuse, states may deduct benefits, deny work permits, or impose criminal sanctions. The Council said these sanctions “should also include imprisonment,” in line with the position adopted by governments.

Migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean react while sitting on a dinghy as they are rescued by the Greek coast guard, off the south coast of Crete on Nov. 18, 2025. Eleftherios Elis Mitza/AFP via Getty Images

The measures reflect growing political pressure across the bloc to tighten migration enforcement.

In May 2024, 15 EU member states, including Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Greece, urged the EU to reduce pressure on their migration management systems.

They stressed the importance of being able to transfer asylum applicants, for whom a safe third country is available, to such countries.

Italy has also argued strongly for the external processing of asylum seekers. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Aug. 1 that until the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum takes effect in June 2026, the Italian government “will continue to seek every possible solution, technical or regulatory, to protect the safety of its citizens.”

In April, the EU announced that nationals from Bangladesh, Colombia, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, India, and Kosovo were unlikely to qualify for asylum because the bloc had designated them “safe third countries,” triggering faster deportation processes.

Returns Regulations and Criticism

On Dec. 8, the council said that a new European return order (ERO) will be added to the Schengen Information System. It will allow authorities to access uniform information quickly. Member states aim to introduce the ERO within two years of the regulation’s entry into force.

The Council also proposed a mutual recognition of return decisions, enabling one EU country to enforce another’s deportation order without launching a new procedure. The Council said this would “send a strong message” that migrants cannot avoid return by moving to another state.

The mutual recognition scheme is not yet mandatory, and the European Commission will decide two years after implementation whether to propose making it compulsory.

Human rights groups have criticized the Council’s agreed regulations. Olivia Sundberg Diez, Amnesty International’s EU Advocate on Migration and Asylum, said on Dec. 8 that the measures would strip people of rights based on their migration status and leave many in legal limbo.

She also criticized member states’ push for offshore return hubs, calling them “cruel and unworkable” centers that could lead to prolonged detention in violation of international law.